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Black Summoner — LNCrawler · All chapters

Bonus Short Stories

Princess Shutola’s Relaxation Time

Princess Shutola Trycen, the nation’s one and only princess, was noble, beautiful, and so intelligent that she had seized the position of General of the Black Ops despite her young age. Although she wasn’t much for expressing her emotions, her upright figure and long list of achievements earned her much love and respect from the country’s citizens, and her face was considered one of the representative faces of Trycen as a country.

Naturally, Trycen itself valued her highly as well. A lot of national politics and military matters ended up piled onto her table on a daily basis. Add to that the neverending gazes of jealousy from her stepbrothers, and one could imagine the amount of stress she was under.

Interestingly, the person who troubled her most was her only blood brother, Tabura. To his credit, he never harassed her, but cleaning up the trouble he caused was often quite the undertaking, as if she did not already have enough to manage when it came to what Azgrad, a war-loving stepbrother of hers who had also climbed the ranks to the position of general, tended to get up to. Their father, King Zel, seemed to be acting out of character lately too.

The point was, Shutola had a mountain of things to worry about, and she was growing increasingly stressed by the day.

I want something fluffy so badly...

Once her stress levels reached a particular threshold, there was a certain something that she would turn to for a mental respite. As a living representation of the saying “You know yourself best,” she was capable of internally gauging the amount of stress that had built up within her and determining when she needed a release. Today was one such day.

“Satella.”

“Present.”

A girl clothed in black appeared seemingly out of nowhere in response to her voice.

“Today is when the plan is supposed to come to fruition. Are all preparations in order?”

“Everything is on schedule. The other side has sent a notice of completion. I believe it is almost time.”

“Perfect. Bring it to my room once it arrives.”

“As you command.”

Satella’s figure disappeared before Shutola’s eyes. The latter paid it no mind, merely turning and heading for her personal quarters.

Click.

“I’m back, everyone,” she cried with the kind of carefree smile she almost never displayed outside.

She was not speaking to anyone, because there was no one in the room. Instead, plushies filled every corner — some bears, some cats, more bears, a few dogs, and were bears mentioned yet? — along with cute knickknacks and shiny accessories. And right next to the shelves that were filled with obscure books? Plushies. Next to stacks of important documents atop her desk? Palm-sized plushies. Her canopied bed was, of course, filled with them too. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find a spot in the room that was not occupied by one.

Shutola headed for her bed almost at a trot. When she reached it, she sat down on the edge, reached for her favorite plushie, and hugged it tightly. Her mannerisms were just like those of a child.

“Ahhhhh, you’re all so fluffy!”

Her smile was one that came from the very bottom of her heart, one that seemed as if she hadn’t a single care in the world. There was no denying it: Princess Shutola loved plushies very, very much. It was only because she had them that she could make it through each day; that was how strong and deep her love for them (especially the bears) was. Her collection, which she had been adding to since childhood, now numbered in the hundreds. There were far too many to fit inside her room, so quite a few were carefully stored in her personal treasure room.

“Listen, everyone, you’ll be meeting a new friend today! I had him specially made by a famous craftsman on the Western Continent! With the country as it is right now, I had to work quite hard just to get the order in. I might have used a few Black Ops members in the process...but that’s a secret, all right? It was just a side task; they all did it as a small detour while on an actual mission, so it’s fine! But listen, everyone...”

Shutola was hugging each of her plushies in turn, jabbering nonstop in a childlike tone. A short while later, she heard the sound of something being set down beside her open door. She whirled around and, sure enough, it was a large gift-wrapped box.

“It’s here!”

In the same way she had trotted to her bed earlier, she now trotted to the box. Her heart was beating like a drum. She could not wait a moment longer to open it up.

“Welcome, Mr. Bear! Thank you for reach— wait.”

There was indeed a plushie inside the box. It was, in fact, a very cute one, sporting chestnut-colored fur and round, shiny eyes. It was not, however, a bear.

“A mino...taur. Satella, this isn’t it...”

That day, Princess Shutola was not able to release any of her stress after all.

The Oracle’s Travel Preparations

The Holy Empire of Deramis was the home and holy land of the Holy Order of Rinne, the world’s most dominant religion. From its location on the western side of the Eastern Continent, this world power focused its efforts on spreading the teachings of Rinne — which involved the worship of Melfina, the Goddess who managed their world — throughout the land.

The man who stood at the top of the country, Pope Philip Deramilius, almost never appeared in public. Rather, it was his second-in-command, Colette Deramilius, who handled most of the governmental duties, performed the rites, and led the religious activities.

Aside from keeping up with her prayers as the Oracle, Colette also preached to the lay believers, represented Deramis in conferences with other countries, distributed food to the needy, and helped out at an independent orphanage. All in all, she was extremely busy.

Today, she had received an invitation to represent Deramis at a ceremony in Parth, the City of Peace, to celebrate the birth of a new Rank S adventurer. After wrapping up her packing, she had paid a visit to the orphanage, which she had a long and close history with, in hopes of taking a breather. The old lady who served as the director had come out to escort her to the parlor in person.

Colette sighed blissfully. “That is just what I needed. Thank you for bearing with me despite the sudden visit, Sister Marigan.”

“Oh, please think nothing of it, Oracle. An hour or two of an old lady’s time is nothing compared to everything you’ve done for us.”

“Come on, can you not call me Colette again? ‘Oracle’ sounds so distant and formal.”

“I called you by your name back then only because you were hiding your identity! When I found out who you were, I thought my poor heart was going to stop.”

“Well, I didn’t have much of a choice, considering how well-known my face is.” Colette offered a slightly troubled smile. But a sip of tea later, her face was back to looking content. “This is truly delicious. Sweet things really are the best for fatigue.”

“This is the milk tea that our orphanage is so proud of. The kids squeeze the milk directly from the cows. Did you know that? They’re so good at it, they sometimes get called to help out on the nearby farms.”

“That sounds wonderful. Maybe I should give it a try myself someday.”

“Oh, you’re absolutely welcome to join us anytime.”

Their peaceful conversation was suddenly interrupted by boisterous noises coming from just outside the room.

“Ria! The brat’s gone that way! Catch him!”

“Hah! Like slow-footed Sister Ria’s going to catch me!”

“Waaaah, wait for meee...”

Several sets of footsteps pounded loudly past, as if several people had run down the corridor. Judging from the voices, Colette determined it to be a child who had done something naughty and two sisters who were chasing him down.

“Oh dear, they’re at it again. I’m so sorry, Oracle. The children are simply too rambunctious.”

“I don’t mind at all! Children are supposed to be bright and energetic; you might even say it’s their duty to be so. I’m glad that they seem so full of life.”

“There are limits, though. Sister Atra is such a tomboy and so spirited, whereas Sister Ria is rather scatterbrained and careless. Between them, they never seem quite able to keep the children in line.” The old lady sighed, but there was a smile on her face. It was obvious that despite her grumbling, she loved the orphanage very much.

After exchanging some more small talk with her, Colette made her way out. Speaking with Sister Marigan had helped to put her heart at ease and was so enjoyable that Colette had wanted to stay with her a while longer. However, Cliff had informed her by way of telepathy that it was about time to return, as the carriages heading for Parth were now prepped and ready.

She suppressed her feelings of regret as she made her way back to the palace. Even so, her steps were light, her heart felt lifted, and she was humming to herself internally. Was it because of the top-quality tea? Or was it a lingering effect from the warm atmosphere at the orphanage? Either way, the Oracle was feeling so good that she had to consciously stop herself from skipping.

I’d dropped by hoping for a brief respite yet ended up truly taking time to relax. I really must thank Sister Marigan and the children. But moving on...

She turned eastward and sniffed several times, concentrating on her sense of smell.

What is this unbelievably dazzling and divine scent that I seem to be catching from that direction? What’s more, this fragrance...

A question mark appeared over her head as she gazed towards the far horizon where Parth lay. She herself was not aware of it, but there was a sparkling strand of drool leaking from the corner of her alluring lips.

Then the Oracle of Deramis, Colette, set off for Parth, the promised land. Despite not knowing what lay in wait for her, be it deity or ogre, she found her heart leaping with excitement for some reason.

Veteran Adventurers in the Shrine of the Puppets

Even after Kelvin’s promotion ceremony was over, the festivities in the city continued for quite a while. During this time, the Adventurer’s Guild announced that it had completed its examination of the new dungeon that Sera and her group had discovered. This branch-off within Clayworm Passages was officially registered as “Shrine of the Puppets,” a Rank A dungeon under Parth’s jurisdiction.

Since Goldiana had bowed out, it was Sera — as the representative of her group at the time — who had been named the discoverer. Only Rank A and Rank S adventurers were allowed inside, with an exception made for Rank B adventurers who had registered their trip beforehand and signed an agreement that they would not hold the guild responsible no matter what happened to them.

The news spread like wildfire among the adventurers, and rumors about the party that would be next to challenge the dungeon sprang up everywhere. It being a newly-discovered place meant that most of it would be untouched, with plenty of treasures and riches ripe for the taking. However, very few stepped forward to claim the honor. Or to be more specific, almost nobody did. After all, Parth was famous as the city with the lowest-ranked adventurers, and only a small subset even fulfilled the minimum requirement of being Rank B. Many people passed by the opening in Clayworm Passages to steal a glimpse of the long tunnel, but that was it.

If one was to mention the only notable individuals who actually met the requirements, it would have to be Parth’s most seasoned adventurer, Uld, and his party of muscular veterans with their ax-wielding teenage apprentice.

“Don’t you think it’s still a bit early for us, Uld-san?”

“We’re just taking a look! We’re going to be shooting for the Rank A exams one day, aren’t we? We might be a bit older than the young’uns, but we should still stoke our ambitions and actively work towards improving ourselves.”

“Yeah, don’t be a chicken, bow-muscles.”

“Who do you think you’re calling ‘bow-muscles,’ you weak-ax?!”

“Are you belittling axes?! You’d have to be blind not to see how cool axes are!”

“Okay, that’s enough, you two. I repeat, we’re only taking a look. Let’s make doubly sure not to bite off more than we can chew, you hear?”

The teenager was Rank D, but he was allowed into the dungeon as a member of Uld’s party. In terms of raw strength, he likely possessed potential beyond that of his own rank.

“According to what Ange-chan said, once we’re through this tunnel, we should be coming out into a large plaza occupied by puppet-like monsters. Despite being humanoid in shape, they have access to a wide variety of attacks beyond conventional weapons, such as firing balls of light and whatnot. Everyone, stay on your toes,” Uld warned from his position at the front of the procession as he proceeded warily, lighting their way with the torch in his hand.

Before long, the party could make out a humanoid silhouette up ahead. They exchanged glances, readied themselves for combat, and silently crept forward.

“Well, hello there. You gentlemen also here to explore the new dungeon?”

The group had intended to close the distance without being discovered, but they had clearly failed. Their target wasn’t even a monster, as they had assumed, but a fellow adventurer — a beastkin — who was a bit of a rare sight in these parts. Chances were he had come to town to attend Kelvin’s promotion ceremony.

A second look revealed even more people beyond.

“That we are. From your ‘also,’ I’m assuming it’s the same for you?” Uld asked the stranger, who had the appearance and aura of a military man.

Before the other answered, however, a beastkin of a smaller build at his side looked up and asked tiredly, “Did someone come, Akgas-san?” He seemed a bit sluggish and was cradling a wounded arm.

Seeing his arm, the apprentice snorted. “What’s this? You got done in by the monsters in there? How careless.”

The military beastkin roared with laughter. “Hey, Guin, even a child is making fun of you!”

“Can’t I get a bit of acknowledgment for scouting out the place solo and making it back in one piece?!” the wounded one cried indignantly.

They seemed to be good guys. Uld’s fist fell like a hammer on his youngest party member’s head. “Do you have to go around picking fights with everyone?!”

“OUCH!”

“I’m so sorry for my companion’s disrespect. We came here hoping to try our hand at the dungeon. Are you about to head out? I see your companion is injured.”

“Ah, no, we’re still in the middle of it. The two of us were stationed here as lookouts. We have two more who’re currently inside — oh, you can see them there.”

The military man pointed towards the plaza where a few figures were fighting. A male beastkin was cutting down puppets with his sword while a female beastkin was brandishing her bare fists. Despite being surrounded by more than ten opponents, the two of them looked like they had the upper hand.

Uld and his party stood stock-still, staring. They realized that their eyes could not keep up with the movements of the puppets, not the ones spewing fire nor those shooting balls of light. The beastkin were moving even faster than their enemies, leaving Uld’s group of Rank B adventurers without the faintest idea of what was going on.

“Uh, that’s...what on...”

“Damn. So that’s what a Rank A dungeon is like. Yeah, all right, it’s still way too early for us,” Uld conceded. Then a slightly nervous look came over his face as he turned towards the beastkin standing before him. “So, who are you guys?”

“Oh, we’re nobody important. We’re just a group of adventurers who decided to visit other countries for training purposes.”

Uld thought to himself, How damn big is this world? The difference between them and us is like heaven and earth. Looks like we still need to put on a lot more muscle!

The veracity of that conclusion aside, Uld and his companions returned home and worked hard at weight training, and their stats did climb up a notch once again.

Conversation Between a Maid and a Demon

Today was a day with plenty of sunshine, which made it a perfect day for doing laundry. Ellie and Ruka, two maids employed by Kelvin’s household, had been bustling to and fro since early that morning. Laundry was all well and good, but this was the kind of day that made people want to go outside and play.

Sera, who had recently confessed her feelings to Kelvin, wasted no time in looking for him, hoping to invite him out.

“So, how did it go?” asked Efil.

“Ugh...why ask when you already know? He was fast asleep,” the demon sighed glumly, taking a sip from her cup of black tea.

Efil, who was sitting across the table on the mansion’s balcony, looked unsurprised. “Master got almost no sleep last night, after all. He went right back to bed after waking up this morning.”

“He must be really tired to go back to sleep after you woke him up. What happened yesterday? You sleep with him practically every night, so you’d kno— oh, um...is that what happened?” Sera’s face suddenly turned as red as her hair. It was not hard to imagine what had come to mind.

“Unfortunately, that was not the case. This time, it was because he was so immersed in his hobby.”

“Oh! His hobby! Right! Of course!”

“And even if it was what you were thinking, I always put his physical condition above all else. When I service him, I keep an eye on when to stop. My aim is to let him finish refreshed and wake up refreshed. That is something I would never compromise on,” Efil said firmly. There wasn’t a speck of embarrassment on her face; rather, her expression was one of pride.

The overwhelming amount of experience that Efil seemed to have over her left Sera speechless. Thinking it over, she had been rather astounded by how forward Efil was during their joint session the morning after she’d confessed to Kelvin.

Sera groaned a little in chagrin, then declared, “Even so, I’m not going to lose to you!”

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m not going to lose!” Sera repeated, this time pointing a finger. She had a rather competitive streak in her.

“Um, I’m not sure this is really a contest...”

“Ugh, look at that composure of a winner...or is that just how magnanimous you are? Um...Efil, I want to learn what you know about Kelvin. Like, what makes him happy, things like that.”

“The sun would set if I’m to cover everything. Is that okay with you?”

“Give it to me a little at a time, please?”

And so the seminar began. Sera threw herself into it, furiously taking notes in a memo pad and pounding the facts into her head. Stirred by how dedicated she was, Efil also gave the lesson her best, thoroughly going over each piece of knowledge in her head. A lot of it was rather trivial, such as Kelvin’s tell-tale mannerisms when he was feeling peckish, or how his bed hair looked when he woke up, but for Efil, every one of those details were among the most important things in the world.

“Next is how to determine how sleepy Master is feeling from the angle of his eyes —”

“Hold on! I’ve completely filled up this memo pad!”

“Oh dear, that is a problem. I haven’t even gone over one percent of what I wanted to share...” Her shoulders drooped with disappointment. At this rate, forget sundown...the seminar would take several days.

“I suppose there’s no other way. We shall have to pick this up another time.”

“Sadly, you’re right. But I’ll make sure to study up on everything you taught me today!”

“I wish you the best, Sera-san!”

“And I you, Efil!”

The two clasped each other’s hands firmly, symbolizing the forging of a new bond. It would be uncouth to inquire as to what it was they were wishing each other the best in.

“That reminds me, Mel’s been entering Kelvin’s bed quite frequently as of late as well, right? Could it be that she’s also —”

“That is not the case. Mel-sama truly goes there only to rest. She falls asleep within three seconds of lying down.”

“Three...seconds?”

“Three seconds, yes.”

The speed at which the Goddess could fall asleep was truly world class.

“And, um...Mel-sama’s positioning while asleep is quite dynamic. Master, who sleeps next to her, often ends up taking several merciless attacks.”

“Attacks? Aren’t you exaggerating a bit?”

“I did not say that as a joke. Recently, Master informed me that he was making fair progress in learning how to train even while sleeping.”

“It’s that bad?!”

The Goddess’s restless sleeping habits were also world class.

Since her memo pad was already covered in notes, Sera secretly burned this fact directly into her mind.

The Goddess’s Gourmet Tour in Toraj

The Torajian Gourmet Guide

When talking about the gourmet scene on the Eastern Continent, one simply cannot go without mentioning the capital city of Toraj. Surely it is not news to readers that this locale is bordered by the wide-open Dragon Sea and boasts a booming fishing industry. There is, of course, also the Dragon Sea Morning Market, an extravaganza where one may find a staggering variety of fresh seafood being sold for shockingly low prices. If you ever have the opportunity to visit this city, do not let your aversion to waking up early prevent you from stopping by the market; it is simply too grand and too full of wonderful surprises to pass up!

In addition, we would be remiss if we failed to remind you of the hot springs and restaurants serving the bountiful harvests from the mountains on the other side of the city. Generally, every establishment you walk into is a winner, and you can rarely go wrong no matter which dish you order. That is just how passionate the people of Toraj are when it comes to food, not to mention how well-developed their country’s cuisines are.

To those of you reading and thinking, “Then what’s the point of this book?” Don’t worry! As your guide, I will be introducing you to my favorite restaurants and mapping them all out for you —

The Goddess Melfina was currently standing in the port of Toraj all by her lonesome. Her blue eyes were slightly teary, and she was clutching her guidebook tightly in one hand. What was she doing there? In order to answer that question, one must turn back time a little.

Kelvin and his party had been enjoying the Phantom Springs of Toraj to the fullest, and today was their last day at the resort before returning home. The day had been set aside for everyone to do whatever they wanted, and Melfina had set her eyes on the Dragon Sea Morning Market, one of the events that Toraj was famous for.

According to her guidebook, it was practically a whole festival with every type of seafood imaginable on sale, and it opened at the crack of dawn. In a truly wonderful coincidence, today just happened to be the market’s opening day. There was no way that Melfina would miss it. And yet when she had woken up and thrown off her covers, she had found the sun already well on its way towards its zenith. In short, she had overslept and missed the event entirely.

She had even wasted unnecessary amounts of energy rushing to the port as fast as she could, but the festival was long over by then.

“I really wanted to visit the Morning Market...”

She had made sure to go to bed extra early the night before — nine o’clock, in fact — but had ended up sleeping for more than twelve hours. Now, she deeply regretted not having asked Efil to wake her up.

“Ha, hahaha...no, I must pull myself together. The Morning Market isn’t the be-all and end-all of food in Toraj. There are plenty of restaurants specializing in seafood around the area, and I have plenty of pocket money saved up. I refuse to let this get me down!”

The ridiculous number of sticky notes protruding from the guidebook in her hand indicated just how much this goddess had planned for the day.

“First, let’s hit that street of stalls close to the port. Even though the Morning Market is over, the neighborhood has always been a famous tourist destination in and of itself. They should still be open even in the afternoon! The only issue is that the more famous the restaurant, the longer the line will be, but that’s not going to stop me.”

She struck out to join the line at her first stop. This particular stall was famous for serving extra-large seafood rice bowls topped with an astounding variety of fresh sashimi. The wasabi soy sauce and vinegared rice they used was said to be a match made in heaven, and Melfina had marked it as “Top Priority” on her itinerary. The queue seemed to be quite long, but...

“Hi, there, waiter, mister. Excuse me?”

“Howdy, pretty lass! What can I do fer ya?”

“I want to eat using this,” she said in a low voice as she showed the man something at an angle that no one around could see.

“Th-This is Tsubaki-sama’s...how on earth did you...”

“I take it you know what it means?”

What Melfina had shown the waiter was Kelvin’s guild card. It bore Queen Tsubaki’s personal seal, which was supposed to allow the bearer to claim various benefits throughout the country. The Goddess clearly had no qualms about exploiting the queen’s authority for the sake of food.

The waiter, overwhelmed by the divine pressure that Melfina was emitting, surreptitiously guided her out of the line and towards an empty table.

“So this is the famous seafood rice bowl!”

She had, of course, ordered the largest size on offer. It was practically a mountain there on her plate. A mountain of sashimi.

“Do you need a spoon, young lady?”

“Nope, I’m fine with chopsticks.”

The waiter was trying to be considerate, since her appearance clearly identified her as a tourist, but she turned down his offer with a smile. When in Rome, after all...

Despite normally preferring spoons, Melfina was dead set on using chopsticks while in Toraj. With elegant movements, she brought a mouthful of the bowl’s contents to her sakura-colored lips. The nearby customers and staff couldn’t help but stare in rapture.

“This is truly wonderful. The naatu is savory, and the shirasu kraken, which is said to have a distinctive fishiness that’s difficult to get rid of, is also quite flavorful. I could eat this all day long.”

“Thank you very much!”

The staff voiced their gratitude in harmony. For some reason, everyone’s attention was now fixed on Melfina. Was it because of the size of her order? Or was it she herself who was drawing their eyes? There was no way to know.

Sadly, this is still about ten notches below the quality of the sashimi that Efil makes. Let’s ask her to whip up a seafood rice bowl later. Memorize this sight and upload it to the Network...done. There are easily more than thirty stores on this street. Time is limited and there are several other parts of the city that I want to visit, so let’s sweep this street within an hour as a warm-up.

In contrast to the refinement displayed during her first bite, the Goddess’s chopsticks began to move faster than the eye could see. Melfina’s battle had only just begun.

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